It only lasted 50 minutes, but the Welsh trio the Joy Formidable made sure every second counted at the Riot Room on Saturday night. Touring off their first full-length release, this year’s “The Big Roar,” the band played an eight-song set that drew exclusively from the album.
Bassist Rhydian Dafydd and drummer Matt Thomas lay down a thick and heavy foundation, but guitarist and lead vocalist Ritzy Bryan drew most of the crowd’s attention.
On their album, Bryan’s vocals fit nicely with the sonic landscapes and her "Siamese Dream"-esque riffs, but live, her wild-eyed and almost scary expressions add a deeper perspective to each song, as if to say that even after performing some of these songs for the last three years, they’re still personal experiences for her.
Despite her furious and almost-violent stage presence, there’s something charming about her, which is compounded in the moments between songs, when she changes into a shy and thankful performer.
Her intensity carried into the crowd of around 150, most of which knew the words and nodded along with each song.
As the group's songwriters, Bryan and Dafydd, who formed the band in 2007, know how to tread carefully by writing songs that cut short right before reaching the point of droning on, a rare feat for a group that owes its sound to the shoegazing genre.
Live, their sound is heavier than the album’s and almost reaches metal territory with Dafydd’s rumbling bass and Thomas’ ample use of the double bass pedal, which dotted the end of nearly every song, including their last one, the single “Whirring.”
It may have only been a 50 minute set, but Tte Joy Formidable played like a band with a lot more to come.
Setlist: The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie, The Magnifying Glass, Austere, The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade, Cradle, Buoy, I Don’t Want to See You Like This, Whirring
The openers: The Kansas City band Soft Reeds started the night out nicely with a 30-minute set that got a big response from the crowd. They were followed by the Lonely Forest, an Anacortes, Wash. based group that sounded likeDeath Cab for Cutie, but with louder amps.
| Noah Homola, The Star
A most excellent show! All three bands were great! Looking forward to seeing the headliners again; they claimed they'll be back...
Posted by: TK | April 24, 2011 at 06:11 PM
Nearly everyone says they'll be back, but with only 150 there (on a Sat. night no less) I doubt this group will make good on that anytime soon unless it's opening for someone else.
The drums were set up sideways on the stage. I've seen that only a few other times. As a on-musician, does anyone know the musical advantage of that arrangement?
Posted by: Rick | April 25, 2011 at 05:50 AM
On-musician?
Posted by: BigSteve | April 26, 2011 at 10:10 PM